This is the second in a series of profiles of member groups of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance.

Highlanders for Responsible Development

Highlanders for Responsible Development (HRD) is a citizens’ group that promotes stewardship of the unspoiled landscape, natural resources and exceptional quality of life of the Allegheny Highlands. It supports policies and activities that are based upon informed community discourse, democratic decision making, prudent land use and sustainable economic development. Organized in 2005 as a Highland County, Virginia group, HRD has recently expanded its Board to include representatives from surrounding communities in adjacent Bath and Augusta Counties in Virginia and Pendleton and Pocahontas Counties in West Virginia.

HRD was one of the founding members of ABRA and is a plaintiff in several of the legal challenges brought against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). In addition to its work on ACP issues, HRD supports responsible land planning, economic development that supports responsible use of natural resources, and low impact tourism that takes advantages of the county’s natural attributes. HRD’s mission is to work in the community as a volunteer force to help provide information to community leaders in the advancement of these objectives.

Several persons active in ABRA’s leadership are HRD Board members, including Allen Jonson (ABRA’s Board Chair and Chair of the Eight Rivers Council), Rick Webb (Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition), Mary Hodges (Voices from Bath), Dick Brooks (Cowpasture River Preservation association), Larry Thomas (Chair of West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and ABRA Board Treasurer), Bill Limpert (Bath County resident) and Lew Freeman (ABRA Executive Director), who serves as HRD Chair.

For more information on HRD, visit its website: www.protecthighland.org.

Who is ABRA? Highlanders for Responsible Development

ABRA CONSERVATION HUB

ABRA’s Conservation Hub program promotes responsible resource management by providing access to critical information needed for effective public involvement in environmental review and oversight.

Following the defeat of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in 2020, ABRA initiated the Conservation Hub to support informed public engagement with the broader range of environmental issues confronting the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Mountain region. The Conservation Hub builds on the analysis and information sharing capacity achieved through ABRA’s Pipeline CSI project during the years of ACP opposition.

The Conservation Hub is based on the use of GIS mapping to provide details and context for land development projects and management practices that involve risk of environmental harm, as well as for environmental preservation and restoration initiatives. The Conservation Hub also provides access to regulatory documents and assessments related to specific projects or issues.

Multiple Conservation Hub sites, focused on individual projects or issues, have been developed collaboratively with ABRA’s partners and allies. Going forward, we invite conservation groups, individuals, and communities to provide ideas for new Hub sites and GIS mapping that can contribute to informed public engagement on behalf of environmental integrity in the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region.